NBC brings Bear Grylls’ “Island” Stateside

U.S. broadcaster NBC has ordered six episodes of the Bear Grylls-fronted survival series The Island. (Pictured: the UK version, which aired on Channel 4)

U.S. broadcaster NBC has ordered six episodes of the Bear Grylls-fronted adventure series The Island.

Produced by Endemol Shine North America and Bear Grylls Ventures, the 6 x 60-minute program is based on the original series for UK broadcaster Channel 4 and again follows adventurer Grylls as he challenges a group of male participants to survive on a desert island without basic necessities.

In addition, much like the original format, the U.S. series does not have any prizes, eliminations, or winners. The 14 participants – which include a stay-at-home dad, trauma surgeon, firefighter and criminal defense attorney – must hunt for food, source water and build their own shelters.

According to the net, “The six episodes will show what happens when 14 American men are abandoned on a deserted island with only the clothes on their backs, minimal survival tools and committed to filming every moment themselves.”

“This experiment reveals, in a shocking way, whether modern man, when pushed, can still summon all the resolve, ingenuity and strength that traditionally made a ‘man’s man’, or whether our society’s cushioning has meant we have lost those hard-earned skills of our ancestors,” said Grylls in a statement.